pm2, the variegated Euonymous is not at all like what I got rid of. I don't believe the one you refer to is a troublemaker. Mine was Euyonymous fortunei coloratus, a/k/a Wintercreeper. Speaking of seedlings, this year I had my first hibiscus seedling in 15 years. I know lots of folk find Rose of Sharon shrub to be a pest. I never knew what they were talking about. I think part of what makes the "pest meter" go up is when birds relocate seeds in other locales. Hard to know for sure when that is going on. Seed fertility is certainly a big clue, but bird relocation just makes it a bigger problem.

Thank you so much everyone! Chris: My tomatoes usually stay in them but before this year my tomatoes truly were horrible. Last yearr out of 16 plants i got a grand total of 5 tomatoes. Yeah, that bad. I am not expecting them to stay in the cages though. As far as bug control, nothing at this point other than hand killing :) The flea beetles aren't out of control at this point so I'm not going to fret about them yet. I only know they are there based on minor damage and the fact that I actually seen them. I need to go out one night and look for my culprit. I think some hot pepper mix or BT is in my future. Tuamor1628 and simmran1: Thank you for the nice comments and suggestions! KCKook: Thank you! Yeah, my 'maters are a little close, but at the same time I was going into this season with very low expectations based on last year. My plants (indet) topped out at MAYBE 4-5 ft and were very pathetic and I gave them lots of room. This year I planted closer with the new beds (the beds are brand new for this yr) figuring I will prune if I need to. As far as the cages, based on what I've read, everyone agrees with you :) I pretty much figured I would eventually have to stake them as well with the wooden stakes you see for the tomatoes without cages. I figured it would help them stay contained at least somewhat lol. The tomatoes in the first half of the first bed (pic 2) ended up WAY closer than I intended. But most of the others are about 2 ft apart lengthwise and 18-24" diagonally. Like I said, I will learn to prune if I need to and I think I probably will as they are growing like weeds now. It is incredible compared to last yr. This is more of an experimental year for me than anything. Learning what works, what doesn't and IF raised beds really do make a difference where I live and so far the answer is yes :) Oh, and starting your own seeds can make an impact to. Out of all the plants above only 1 tomato, 4 peppers and 2 eggplants are store bought. Everything else is from seed, which was a whole new world for me as well!

There's not as much red as you see in the photo most of the time. It was just one of those weirdly lit evenings. It reminded me of a moment from my youth when I looked out into the backyard after a tornado had passed close by. My dad was standing out by the fence looking at the sky and everything looked like I was wearing pink sunglasses. He was only about 35 at the time and it's a memory that really sticks in my mind as something rare and transcendent. Remind me which one is the M. riverchonii? I planted three this year that I think I will need to move a bit in the spring. I get the sense that they have a larger spread than whatever site I was looking at said they did. Marie, what you say about the red in the Gro-Low is exactly right. It's almost buried right now by the oak leaves from the neighbor's yard and I don't notice it unless I'm really up close. All those grasses I've got around it are keeping the leaves from blowing on down the street. We'll see if it still has color when most of the leaves are down and I do another raking. Such a beautiful palette in your yard, TR2, especially in that second photo.

Update on the Update Update.... I am beginning to see that it may be "Damping Off", Now that I have seen pictures, yes, it looks exactly like it does in the pictures. One reason for it suddenly happening is that I may have chosen two seeds that are, in fact, prone to disease. Coincidence? Maybe... The Rutger's tomato is both a strong plant and is not susceptible as noted from Burpee. The presence of moss on most of them, including on the soil of the Rutgers, may have changed the pressure of the Hydrogen but even Burpee representative says that it doesn't look that bad but maybe it doesn't take much. Meanwhile, I have an ICU triage section where I have a few premies under special care. However, damping off, even if they survive will probably be weak and stinted plants. Still, I want to see it through if nor nothing else than the study of it. After all my inquiry these last few weeks, I am surprised is that no one mentioned Damping Off here, on another forum, from two agriculture centers and a garden center. Now, I am going to bet that a lot of people will mention that they have seen it and, as many guys claim, I can honestly say "It has never happened to me before...." (: